This is It
by MeInTheMaking
Summary: Not too long ago, a man by the name of Pitch Black brought about the end of the world as we knew it. Now, we've been left to defend ourselves against his monsters - the Nightmares. He's created an army, and he's infected the people. How do I know all this? My name is Jack Frost - and I'm living it. / Human/Apocalypse AU
1. Introductions

before we begin, i would like to dedicate this to Her Head In The Clouds, whose story "Rise of the Guardians: The Rise and Fall" is why I'm writing this right now. This is a human, apocalypse AU, and this is how it starts...

* * *

About five years ago, a man named Pitch Black fell victim to his own biological experiments. Five years ago, Pitch Black launched the Apocalypse – the end of the world as we once knew it. He unleashed on the world his abominations – creatures straight from your worst nightmare. The people decided that was what they were going to be called. Nightmares ravaged the world, destroying everything in sight. How do I know this?

My name is Jack Frost, and I lived it.

I was alone. I had a family, once, but Pitch and his Nightmares ended that for me. I'll never forget the day they raided my town – killed my mother, and then my sister. I was a wanderer now; unable to fit in with anyone – it was like I was invisible. It didn't help that I didn't even look normal. I had Pitch to thank for that as well.

Three years ago, Pitch released a chemical into the air that he'd stolen from a scientist called Lunar. He claimed it to be in the name of evolution. It wouldn't affect everyone, just those worthy.

Don't know why it affected me then.

As soon as I breathed the air that day, my lungs felt like they were on fire. My whole body felt like it was freezing. My hair turned white, and my eyes blue. But that wasn't all. I don't like to talk about it, being a freak of nature and all, but it kind of – gave me powers, I think. But enough of that.

I was walking through the wasteland that used to be Canada. I pulled my blue hoodie tighter around my face, trying to hide the white hair. I was looking for a place to stay for the night. It had been days since I slept or ate, and I was starting to feel the pain. I finally came upon a small house, where a kid was playing outside.

"Don't you know not to play outside at this time, kid? The Nightmares could be anywhere," I called out to him. He looked up and grinned.

"I'm not afraid of no Nightmare, sir!" the boy replied. I chuckled. At that moment a woman ran out of the house, running to the kid.

"Jamie Bennet, you get in this house right now! What are you even thinking being out here this late," she cried, grabbing the boy and pulling him up. He pointed at me.

"What about the guy over there?" he asked. The woman, presumably his mother, looked at me.

"Do you have a place to stay for the night, sir?" she asked. I shrugged and shook my head.

"Please can he stay with us mom, please?" the boy, Jamie, begged. The mother looked as though she wanted protest, and I couldn't blame her. These were hard times. Finally she sighed and nodded.

"Please, come in." she invited. I made my way to the front door.

"Name's Jack – Jack Frost," I greeted, shaking her hand. She smiled briefly, returning the gesture.

"Nice to meet you Jack."

* * *

it's nothing much, but there it is. i hope to finish the next chapter as soon as I can, buT I'm not sure when that will be. tell me what you think, and please review.


	2. Ghosts From the Past (or Legos)

Oh look another chapter what? Haha thank you everyone who reviewed my first chapter, you're all so kind! I also want to thank everyone who faved/followed the story, it really means a lot to me. Well, here we go, onto a new chapter!

* * *

Things were almost…normal. As I walked into the small home, it was as though I had walked into the past; like the apocalypse had never happened. Family photos decorated the walls and tables. I could smell dinner cooking from the kitchen.

"Jamie, take off your shoes before running through the house, you'll track mud," Mrs. Bennet scolded lightly. The small boy stopped and grinned.

"Yes ma'am," he replied sheepishly. He returned back to the door and pulled off his boots, setting them down in a somewhat orderly fashion.

"He's a good kid," I noted as he ran off through the house once more. His mother chuckled.

"Yes, he is," she said softly, watching after her son. "He's still a handful though." I laughed.

"I'll bet he is," I agreed. We began to walk toward the kitchen, where the smell of the cooking food was starting to get strong. It really smelled good. Wow I was hungry. When was the last time I ate?

"It's hot in here Jack, why don't you pull your hood down?" Mrs. Bennet asked. Oops. I cringed.

"It's a…touchy subject," I replied hesitantly.

"How touchy?" she asked. I scratched the back of my head through the hoody, thinking of a way to answer in a way she wouldn't keep questioning.

Damn. Nothing.

I pulled my hood down in thought, as I often do; not really remembering I kind of was hiding something. The resulting gasp made me look up again.

"I pulled down the hood on accident again, didn't I?" I questioned in annoyance. Mrs. Bennet nodded slowly.

"It's white," she stated. I shrugged and nodded.

"Used to be brown. Eyes too, but as you can see that changed," I replied with a hint of bitterness. There was a moment of silence.

"You can sleep in Jamie's room tonight, there's an extra bed in there, and he'd be thrilled," the mother said finally. I silently nodded, and after simple instructions to his room, picked up my things and moved in that general direction.

I knew it was his the moment I walked in. Crayon drawings all over the wall and a small stuffed bunny on the bed marked this as a child's room. Legos on the floor – which I was very careful to avoid stepping on, even with shoes – and other small, painful toys like hot wheels also littered the floor, all with the initials JB on them. Suddenly there was a small pattering behind me. As I turned I saw a now familiar small boy with brown hair.

"You're staying in my room tonight? Cool!" Jamie said excitedly, hopping up and down and running to his own bed. I chuckled and set my things down at the foot of the spare bed.

"Looks like it, kid," I told him. He bounced up and down.

"That is so cool! I haven't had anyone over at my house since we moved the first time," he informed me.

"The first time? Where did you live before here?" I inquired, sitting down on the bed.

"A place called Burgess. But then Nightmares attacked it, and we had to move. I miss it there, but I like it here too!" he explained. I looked at him; he was young, maybe six or seven.

"Do you remember that?" I asked. He shook his head, plopping down on his own bed.

"No, I was really young when it happened. My sister wasn't even born yet," he said. I inwardly sighed at the availability of a subject change. I'm not the best conversationalist. You know, five years of loneliness, and little to no human contact. It makes you a terrible conversationalist.

"You have a sister?" I asked. Jamie nodded.

"Uh-huh! Her name is Sophie, and she's three! I'm seven, so that makes me four years older than her. But mom says I have to keep my Legos away from her because she could swallow them and choke, and the last thing we need in the middle of the apocalypse is for my little sister to choke on a Lego," he rambled, moving off the bed and picking up some of the plastic toys. "Do you like Legos, Jack?"

I couldn't help but smile at the kid and move to sit next to him. Something about this kid made everything in this world better. He had a way of making even me smile.

"As long as I don't step on them in the middle of the night, I like Legos."

* * *

Alright so this is obviously just a filler chapter, but next chapter is dinner, and if I can fit it in, maybe even a little bit of action! So, until next chapter, Making out!


	3. The Arrival (But First, Food)

Suddenly there was a knock on the door. Jamie and I looked at each other, then at our masterpiece.

"Boys, its dinner time," Jamie's mom called from the other side of the door. I looked down as my stomach grumbled its plea for food at the thought of dinner. Jamie snickered, but looked at the Lego structure on the floor.

"In a minute mom, we're almost done!" Jamie said. We both glanced up quickly however, when the door suddenly opened, revealing Jamie's somewhat exasperated mother.

"I've been calling you for five minutes now," she informed them while opening the door. I guess what she saw surprised her, because her jaw all but hit the floor. There we were, lying on our stomachs, working together to create a giant robot. It was half blue and half red, and we were pretty proud of our work.

"Jack wanted it to be red, but I wanted it to be blue, so we compromised by using both colors together, and then we had even more Legos, so the robot was even bigger!" Jamie said, jumping up quickly but carefully and proudly motioning to his masterpiece. His mother smiled and laughed a little.

"That's wonderful, Jamie, but now it's time to wash up for dinner. You don't want cold food for dinner tonight, do you?" she asked. Jamie quickly shook his head no; he would never want cold food, and grabbed my hand.

"Come on Jack, we gotta get ready for dinner quick," he exclaimed, pulling me along as he ran to what I assumed to be the nearest bathroom.

After we washed up, we quickly ran to the kitchen table where Jamie's mom and a small girl with choppy blonde hair sat in pjs and somewhat tattered fairy wings. There was even a place set for me. Again it was like I was catapulted back into the past as everyone went around the table and chatted about their day. It felt normal.

"So Jack, where are you from?" Jamie's mom asked me.

"Uh, Burgess, actually. I moved on from there about four years ago," I said.

"Funny, us too. We moved out here to be close to my sister. She has a small cabin just north of here," she replied. We chatted for a bit longer before Jamie announced he was done, Sophie agreeing shortly after. I decided not to be a total jerk and helped with the dishes.

"So," I asked grabbing the plates and walking them over to the sink, "was it just to be closer to your sister, or was it the Nightmare attacks as well?" Mrs. Bennet sighed.

"We didn't leave right after the attack, but after their father died we did," she said, leaning back against the sink. "What about you? What caused you to move?"

"That's a…touchy subject," I replied, scratching the back of my head. "I don't really like to talk about it a whole lot, it brings back bad memories." I looked away for a moment before feeling a soft hand on my shoulder.

"I'm so sorry. Who did you lose?" she asked quietly. I barked a short, regretful laugh.

"Everyone."

And then the conversation was over. Mrs. Bennet didn't pry, and for that I was grateful. She told me to go ahead and get ready for bed, on the count that I guess I looked really tired, and that she would finish the dishes. I couldn't be more grateful at that point. I made my way back to Jamie's room, where the kid was already in his PJs, and carefully setting the robot up on a shelf.

"Oh there you are Jack!" he exclaimed, hopping down from the chair he was standing on, "I was just about to go look for you!"

A couple of days went by like this. Every morning I would be prepared to leave, and save them my troubles, when they would simply insist on my staying here. It was…kind of awesome. It was like I could relax and just not worry about anything. But of course nothing lasts forever.

I couldn't sleep. I lay awake staring at the glow in the dark stars we had just stuck to the ceiling. There had been reported sightings of Nightmares in areas nearby, but we were hopeful. Nearby around here was a big radius. Suddenly, Jamie sat up.

"Jack, did you hear that?" he asked, glancing around his room as though the shadows were about to come alive. I shot him a concerned look and strained my ears to hear what he was talking about. Then, there it was. Shit.

Neighing. Horrible, frightful neighing. They were here.


	4. Frightful New Enemies (or Holy Shit)

Hey guys! So I'm going to be gone at camp for the next week, and I already have this chapter written, so even though I updated yesterday, I'm going to go ahead and update now too! However, I haven't even started on the next chapter, so don't expect anything until I'm back from camp, as I will have no technology available. I will still write for you guys though! Anyway I wrote this chapter at work, and then had to be sent home due to an anxiety attack (not fun guys, not fun) so you all get this now as I've already packed and I have free time on my hands!

Thank you everyone who faved, reviewed, and followed in the day it took me to write this new chapter for all of you!

* * *

I got up so quickly I nearly fell out of the bed. The Nightmares were coming, and fast.

"Jack, what are we going to do?" Jamie asked, getting up and running next to me. Looking down at him was a brief vision of the night my sister...

"First, you get safe," I said crouching down and grabbing his shoulders. "Let's go find your mom and Sophie." Jamie nodded.

"Then you go kick their butts with your superpowers, right?" he asked. I smiled. Jamie had discovered my "superpowers" a couple days ago when he almost fell out of a tree we were climbing and the wind just "happened" to catch him and break his fall so he didn't break any bones.

"Yeah bud, then I kick their butts with my superpowers," I assured him. His resulting smile was enough to make me believe I really would too.

We didn't have to go far for his mom. Mrs. Bennet was half-way down the hall holding Sophie when we walked out of the room.

"Jamie, Jack come on, we're going to the safe shelter," she said, motioning for Jamie's hand. He took it quickly, and I felt a tug on my own hand too. I looked down to see Jamie had grabbed my hand with his free one, squeezing it for reassurance. I squeezed back lightly.

The safe shelter was a storage cellar Jamie and I happened upon behind the house. And my happened upon I mean I jumped on the door by accident and fell through the rotted wood, landing less than gracefully on my face. Since then we figured it would make a great shelter for Nightmare attacks, so I had been working vigorously to clean and repair it. I had just finished yesterday.

Inside were blankets, coats, some food, and a shepherds crook I had found in the shed while searching for a padlock. I grabbed the staff as it proved to be a great channel for my powers since I found it.

"Lock the door behind me. I'm going to stand guard and try to lead them in away if the come this direction. Don't open this door for anything; no matter what you hear, or what you think you hear," I whispered to Mrs. Bennet She nodded gravely, but as I was heading out she grabbed me.

"Jack, you've only been here a week, but you're just as much my son now as Jamie. So you better be safe out there, do you understand me?" she said. I smiled and nodded.

"Yes ma'am," I replied.

"Good, now go, and hurry back, I don't think Jamie's going to breathe again until you get back."

I chuckled and finally headed out the door, hearing the reassuring click of the lock behind me. I sat down on a tree stump and took in my surroundings. As it began to snow, I was glad I painted the door white; it had completely disappeared from view. I became so lost in thought I almost missed the faint rustling noise. It came suddenly, and then it was gone briefly. I stood up, listening hard. The rustling could be the result of anything from a woodland rabbit to a tactful Nightmare, and the last time I froze a bunny on accident Sophie wouldn't talk to me for the rest of the day.

There it was again, this time louder and to my right. More rustling again from my left and behind me. This was definitely a tactful Nightmare. They had a way of distorting what you heard to distort you. I had no way of knowing where the Nightmare really was. That fact and the sounds all around me had me violently glancing around everywhere until everything suddenly stilled.

I grew tense. It was too quiet - way too quiet. I looked around again, trying to sense where the Nightmare was going to come from. Then, there was a growl, and with a roar, a giant coarse black bear leaped out of the treeline at me. I put my staff up just in time to keep it from clawing my face off. Using the wind to give me some extra strength I pushed it off me and quickly got up. This wasn't good.

Most Nightmares are just horses. Horses from Hell, mind you, but still just horses. This monster could shape-shift. Now either Pitch was getting to a new level of sadistic, or he was on a mission, because I had never encountered a Nightmare this strong on a rampage before. I did know, however, that I now more than ever needed to get this thing away from Jamie and his family. Hopefully, there was only this one.

Now, luring a Nightmare is no easy task. Sometimes all you have to do is start running, and they follow you. Other times, that doesn't work so well. I suspected this was one of those times. Alright, time to do something I hated. Time to be Nightmare bait. Time to be scared.

The Nightmare lifted it's head as it sensed my fear.

"That's right, Ugly. I'm afraid," I muttered more to myself than the Nightmare. It crouched low, and so did I. When it turned into a lion and pounced, I took off, and it thankfully followed. I only had to get so far before it caught up to me, and then I could improvise from there. I glanced behind me for a moment to see the Nightmare lion to transform back into a horse. Well shit, now I was screwed.

Using my staff I launched myself over a fallen tree, landing softly on the ground then running again. Suddenly, there was the sound of more hoofbeats.

Looking to my right, I found another Nightmare had joined the first one. Fate hates me. Really, it does.

I took another leap, aiming for an underlying branch, when something caught me and rammed me back into the earth, knocking the wind out of me. I tried to grab my staff, but it grabbed my arm and held it securely in place, stepping on my other one and successfully restricting me. I was seriously freaked out by what I saw had grabbed me.

The Nightmare holding me down looked almost...human. Almost.

It looked just like the rest - coarse black, almost sand, for skin that shifted and swirled, and piercing, haunting gold eyes whose image were forever branded into your memory - but it was human. It smiled, it had caught its prey (AKA me. Yay.) and lifted its hand. I watched as razor sharp claws grew in place of fingernails. It's eyes gleamed as it dug them into my shoulder and raked them down, tearing my flesh. I shouted in pain, I hadn't felt anything this bad in a while. It raised its hand to repeat the action when, out of nowhere, a body slammed into it. I heard a shriek, and, in the next moment, a girl's face hung over me.

"Are you alright?" she asked helping me stand. I winced and grabbed my shoulder, trying unsuccessfully to stop the bleeding. Looking up, I finally got a good look at her.

Holy shit.

* * *

Can anyone say Warm Bodies moment? I can! Alright guys, that's all you get for this week, so enjoy it! Please fave and review in the time it will take me to return from my vacation! I'll miss you all!


	5. The Kidnapping (and Explanations)

Hey guys, I'm back from camp! It was great to get away for a week, and now, as promised, I have a new chapter ready for you guys! Thank you all for sticking with the story and being so patient! You're all so kind with your reviews, and I'm glad I'm able to keep your interest. I hope as the story progresses you'll still be hanging on every word and ramble. You've been a wonderful audience, so, without further adieu, enjoy chapter five.

* * *

Holy shit. She was beautiful.

Her bright magenta eyes contrasted with her exotic tan skin. Her chocolate colored hair blew softly in a random wind, allowing me to catch sight of streaks of pink, yellow, and teal among the tresses. Then her full, perfect lips parted.

"Move!" she screamed, pushing me out of the way. She met the new assaulting Nightmare with inhuman speed, only to simple punch it in the face, produce a knife from seemingly nowhere (and I don't really want to imagine from where), and plunge it into the creature, causing it too, to shriek and die.

The girl got up like it was nothing, handed me back my staff and smiled.

"Careful, Nightmares can be tricky," she said. What?

I was about to open my mouth when I was reminded there was another Nightmare following the one she just killed. I was affirmed when I saw movement behind her.

"Duck!" I yelled as a second Nightmare appeared behind her. I raised my staff as she dropped, blasting the Nightmare with ice and freezing it. I can only assume adrenaline took over, as I twirled my staff with a new precision, moved around the girl, and rammed the butt of the staff into the Nightmare, causing its form to shatter around us.

"Careful with those Nightmares," I mimicked, offering her a hand, "they're tricky." She laughed and hung her head.

"They get the better of everyone from time to time, I'm just lucky you were here too," she said. "My name is Toothiana, but you can call me Tooth, all my friends do." I smiled when a sudden pain in my arm reminded me why I was running in the first place.

"Jamie," I breathed, taking off. I was halted, however, when a surprisingly strong grip held me back.

"Where are you going? You can't just run off with a wound like that, you'll only stress it more, and potentially wound yourself further," she stated, holding me in my place. I pulled my uninjured arm out of her grip and glared at her, only one thing on my mind.

"I don't care, I have to make sure Jamie is ok," I said.

"Who's Jamie," she asked. I stopped again and looked at her.

"He's my little brother," I replied without much thought, "and I had to lead these Nightmares away before he died like my sister did, and goddamn it there is no way in hell you can stop me from running all the way there." Toothiana or whoever she was stopped.

"Alright," she said, after a long pause, "but I'm coming with you. You aren't running through these woods alone with that injury." And without a moment's hesitation I took off running. Running toward the place I called home now, running for the little boy who had somehow become my little brother. I hear soft, barely audible footfalls behind me, and I knew Tooth was following me. As much as I hated to admit it right now, it was actually pretty comforting. Oh great, now I sounded like some love interest in some sappy chic-flick. Ok, time to get that image out of my head. I had to admit though, the girl was beautiful – if not insanely-

Did she just pass me up? Oh my god she did.

"You know, unless you know the way to a house you've never been too, I suggest you let me lead the way," I muttered as I caught up to her. She blushed, as though she forgot I couldn't run like she could, and slowed down. I could see the end of trees and light as we approached the end of the forest. We approached the house. I ran with renewed speed, as anxiety crept in of what I would find.

Finally, I broke through the tree line. All thoughts of the pain in my arm disappeared as I looked around. Everything was in destruction. The house was in shambles, but it still stood, so I could fix that. But as I looked down, I saw what really wrenched my heart out of my chest.

What was laid before my eyes caused my heart to stop. It made my breath hitch in my throat and my stomach drop to my feet.

The door to the shelter was bashed in.

I didn't even feel myself launch forward. I didn't realize I had run into the shelter until I was kneeling beside Mrs. Bennet, who was lying against a wall with a cut on her forehead. She looked at me, and she looked broken.

"Jack," she whispered hoarsely, "Jack, J-Jamie." My heart froze once more.

"Mrs. Bennet, where are Jamie and Sophie?" I begged, grabbing her hand for comfort. Her breath hitched and she exhaled shakily.

"They broke through the door, and-and they tried to take Sophie. Jamie, he wouldn't let them take her. H-he tried to fight them, Jack, I tried to stop him, but he was gone before…They took him Jack. They took Jamie." My hands became fists. I growled and sent the fist flying into the wall of the shelter.

"What about Sophie?" I asked through gritted teeth.

"J-Jack?" a small voice called from behind one of the shelves. Sophie's small face peeked from behind and she ran to me once she recognized it as me, launching herself into my arms and burying her face in my shoulder.

"Jamie got took, Jack, Jamie got took!" she cried. I closed my eyes and wrapped my arms around her.

"Sophie is safe," Mrs. Bennet said softly. I sighed. I heard Sophie hiccup and felt her lift her head slightly.

"J-Jack, who pretty lady?" she asked, causing Mrs. Bennet and myself to look up. Tooth was standing in the doorway, a hand to her mouth.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt your moment," she apologized.

"They took him," I informed her.

"He's not the first one," she responded. I stared at her. She sighed.

"I'm a part of a resistance. We've been following Pitch's movements since the dawn of the apocalypse, and lately, they've been of interest," she explained, moving closer into the cellar. "Pitch has been sending Nightmares into towns, cities, and residencies, to kidnap children that live there. Just recently he began sending out the hybrids that you met up with, Jack, and has been moving more rapidly. We can't figure out why."

"That doesn't make any sense," I said through gritted teeth.

"I know, but we have to get you all back to headquarters. If she's still here," she said, motioning to Sophie, "they'll most likely be back for her. At HQ she'll be protected, as will you and your family." I looked at Mrs. Bennet. She needed medical care, and soon. I did too, but I could wait. I nodded. Tooth explained she had to make some calls. As she walked out of the cellar, I handed Sophie over to her mother, and followed her.

"Tooth to North, come in North," Tooth spoke into a small walkie-talkie. I took the time to get a good look at her, realizing I hadn't really done that yet. She was a small girl; pretty, and looked about my age. She wore thick tights and a shawl that seemed to be moving the wind. On her feet were currently boots that I supposed kept her feet warm in the snow. The small communication device in her hand suddenly crackled to life.

_'This is North, what is it Tooth?' _asked a sharp Russian accent from the other side.

"Nightmare attack, one child taken, one left behind. Requesting their admittance into HQ for protection."

_'Granted, bring them in.'_

"Oh and North, I found another one of us." There was a moment of silence before a short reply came over the device.

_'Bring him too.'_ She turned off her walkie talkie and turned to face me.

"You're all going to come to headquarters with me, and then, there's someone I want you to meet," she said, suddenly mysterious to me once more. I raised an eyebrow and looked at her.

"And how are we going to get there?" I asked.

"Easy," she said, unbuttoning her shawl, and giving a look as though the answer were obvious. She pulled off her shawl revealing a set of iridescent, fluttering fairy wings, making me wonder how she hid them in such a small shawl. She smiled, grabbing my attention once more.

"We fly." Wait.

"What?"

* * *

Alright, so this is by far the longest chapter to date. I hope to not make my chapters much longer than this, but I sometimes one just has a lot to say. As always I ask that you review or PM me and tell me what you think of my latest chapter, and until the next time, I must bid you a goodnight!


	6. Stinky Head (or Jamie's POV)

Lookie here guys, you get two chapters in one day! I really wanted to write a chapter in Jamie's point of view, just so that you could understand where he is right now, and what kind of role he'll be playing in the future of the story. I tried really hard to write this in the perspective of a child, so review me how I did after you read it! So, go ahead and get reading!

* * *

It was like everything was louder. All around me were the echoes of children crying for their mommies and daddies. They bounced off the walls and always seemed to come back louder the second time. It was scary. It made me want my mom too. At least Sophie was ok. I hoped she was ok. I was thrown suddenly into I think a big birdcage? I knew it was swinging when I sat up. I wanted Jack and mom and Sophie. I wanted to go home and this place was cold and it scared me. I looked around at the other cages. I saw a bunch of other kids in other cages, and they all looked scared too. It kind of made me think of Sophie.

I heard someone crying in the cage next to me. I looked over and saw a girl who was all hiddled up (that's the right word, right?) and was crying. I heard sniffling a little closer to me, and saw there were a few other kids in the same cage as me. It kind of made me think of that one time Sophie was scared because of a thunderstorm. I thought of what I did then and smiled best as I could. I crawled a little closer, trying to get all their attentions.

"Um, hi there. I'm Jamie, it's nice to meet you," I said to the girl in the cage beside us. She sniffled and looked up slightly. "Are you scared?" She wiped her eyes on her sleeve and nodded a little. I looked around and saw a few more kids looking at me too.

"Well that's ok, because I am too, and so if we're all scared together, it's not so scary anymore, right?" I asked. She shrugged. At least she stopped crying.

"I think that soon, we'll all be back to our mommies and daddies. I have a friend, his name is Jack, and he has superpowers!" I told her. That got the attention of everyone around us. Kids were slowly turning their heads in our direction, and wiping their eyes with their sleeves too.

"R-really?" she asked finally. I nodded.

"He does! And he's going to come find me, and then he'll find all of you too, and then, he'll save us all for sure!" I said. She sniffed and smiled.

"I'm Pippa," she said finally. I smiled back at her.

"Nice to meet you Pippa." Just then there was a loud noise that sounded like a horse. Pippa looked scared again, and looked in the direction it came from. There was a man, and he didn't look nice. I was kind of scared for a moment, but then I was more mad at the way he made everyone else scared too. I gave him the look mom gave Jack sometimes when he said something that I wasn't allowed to repeat.

"So," the man said, and shadows seemed to move around him, "you have a friend with superpowers?" I nodded.

"Yeah and I bet he can kick your butt!" I told him. Mom wasn't here, so I could say that. Plus I was seven; I was totally old enough to tell someone Jack could kick their butt. The man just gave me this really nasty and evil smile. Definitely not a good guy. I hoped Jack really would kick his butt.

"I'm sure he can," he said. "And you are?" I crossed my arms and looked at him definitely (I'm sure that's the right word this time).

"Jamie. Jamie Bennet. And my friend is Jack Frost," I told him, making sure to stick my tongue out for good measure. He made a weird face, kind of like when you have to eat steamed spinach and you look at it like its toxic.

"Is that so? Well Jamie, do you know who I am?" the creepy man asked. I lifted my eyebrow, the way Jack does sometimes when he's got a comeback."

"Do you really matter so much that I should?" I asked him back. He closed his eyes for a moment and exhaled really loudly. Almost like my mom when I say something to her that I shouldn't have (example: 'Jamie, can you clean your room?' 'I don't know, _can_ I?' Never ends well for me). Then he finally opened his eyes again and stared at me for a long time. His eyes were bright yellow, and they glowed and they looked really cold. I didn't like it.

"My name, Jamie Bennet, is Pitch Black. And I'm the reason you're here," he said. I felt my eyes get bigger. I really didn't see that one coming. But soon I put on my brave face again; the one Jack had when the Nightmares attacked.

"Sounds more like Stinky Head to me," I said back. He glared at me for a long time.

"We'll see, Jamie Bennet. We'll see."

* * *

Oh Jack, look at how you influence Jamie. Alright guys that's all I got for now, next chapter we're back to Jack, and from there who knows? Until next chapter, later guys!


	7. Leaving Home (or Old Memories)

Not gonna lie, this one was a hard one to write. I guess it's because it was an in-between chapter, so it was harder for me to write. Plus I was at a loss for inspiration. But, nonetheless, I finished it in time for the weekend. I have to start packing again, because I'm going on a mission trip! So that's another week I won't be able to upload anything! But anyway, I want to thank everyone who reviews and faves and follows this story, it keeps me motivated to keep writing! Continue reading!

* * *

"How the hell do you expect Sohpie and Mrs. Bennet to fly? I mean, we can, but what about them?" I asked.

"Jack I heard that," Mrs. Bennet called from the cellar. I cringed, remembering the last time I let a word slip and Jamie decided it was a cool word to say. Mrs. Bennet does not let people off easy.

"Sorry," I replied. Tooth sighed, picking back up her radio.

"I could call in a helicopter from the Canadian base that would be here to pick them up in no time. But it would probably take a while," she said, looking to me for confirmation that that was a good idea.

"How long is a while?"

"An hour or more."

"What would we do in the meantime?"

"Probably scout for stray Nightmares." I cursed under my breath and ran a hand through my hair.

"I'm not leaving them alone for that long. Ever. Again," I told her. She nodded in understanding.

"Then I suggest you all start packing," she said before turning away again and making contact with whoever it was she needed to. I walked back into the cellar where Mrs. Bennet and Sophie were waiting.

"Hey there Sophie, we're going to go on a little vacation," I told her, picking her up.

"Really?" she asked. I nodded in return. I put her down and helped up her mom.

"Where are we going?" she asked. I pointed toward Tooth.

"She says she can get you two to safety. We need to get packing; she said a helicopter will be here in an hour," I explained quickly. I paused. "Need any help?"

"Probably with Sophie, last time we moved she only packed her stuffed animals," Mrs. Bennet replied. I snorted, shaking my head.

"That is so Sophie."

Thirty minutes later found us packing in the house. All of the photos were taken down and stored in the bottom of a suitcase, Sophie had grabbed all but two stuffed animals, and I still somehow managed to shove a good bit of clothes in her bag (very proud of myself by the way) and I had packed my light load back into my traveling bag. I was about to walk out when a sharp pain coursed through my foot, causing me to curse under my breath and sit down on the bed. I looked down at the weapon of obvious mass destruction, and found the perpetrator.

It was a Lego.

"_Do you like Legos, Jack?"_

"_As long as I don't step on them in the middle of the night, I like Legos."_

My eyes trailed a little to the right and found our robot. I picked it up, realizing we never got to finish it. I put it back down and sighed, looking over to Jamie's bed. I picked up a small backpack and pulled some of his clothes into it. One more glance at his bed and I quickly grabbed his stuffed rabbit. He adored the thing, and I wasn't about to leave it. I sighed again and got up to leave.

"I'm so sorry little bro," I breathed heavily as I walked out the door, closing it softly behind me. I walked quickly outside with both my bag and Jamie's. I handed my bags to Mrs. Bennet and made my way quickly to Tooth.

"Did you get a chance to scout around?" I asked. She nodded.

"I did very quickly, and so far, it seems there are no more Nightmares in the surrounding area. They've moved on for now Jack," she said, placing a reassuring hand on my arm. I felt myself stiffen under her touch. Even though I'd been living with the Bennet's for a while, I still had trouble with physical contact. I shrugged her off unconsciously and continued talking.

"How much longer until the helicopter gets here?" I asked shortly. I realized I might have hurt the girl's feelings, but I didn't have time to apologize at the moment, my family instincts were kicking in.

"It'll be here any minute now," she replied, sounding a bit deflated. Just then there was a sound in the distance. I looked at Tooth.

"Is that?"

"Yeah, it is."

The helicopter was here.

* * *

Alright, that's all for now, and I'm really not sure when I'm going to be able to update next, so please be patient. Until next time, readers!


	8. Jack's Story (or I'm Sorry)

Hey everyone! I'm back from my mission trip! It was really great, and even greater was that I got a chance to write! Now fair warning, this chapter accidentally took a turn for the angsty side. I didn't mean for it to happen, but it did. So you all get a fresh crop of feels. Sorry. not sorry.

Thank you to everyone who read and reviewed the last chapter, your support means a lot to me. Now get on with the chapter, it's a long one!

* * *

Everything after the helicopter touched down was a blur.

After a few words, Mrs. Bennet and Sophie loaded the aerial vehicle and it took off into the sky, hopefully far away from this place.

I stared after it for a while, watching the closest thing I had to a family in a long time fly away, taking their memories with them.

"We should get going if we're going to make it there tonight," Tooth finally said. I nodded in agreement, yet did nothing to comply. I heard her sigh.

"Jack, they're going to be alright," she assured me. I exhaled a breath I didn't know I was holding.

"I know, doesn't mean I won't worry about them," I replied. She was silent for a moment.

"We really should go Jack," she said again. This time I did move, twirling my staff to get a better grip on it. It was like the thing was a part of me now, and extra limb that helped me survive. I stared at it, and what it seemed to mean to me. Finally I looked at Tooth and nodded.

"Let's go," I said.

"Do I have to carry you, or do you have your own mode of air transportation?" she asked. I grinned. Maybe I could get used to Toothiana.

"Oh I can fly, I just haven't had much practice, so you aren't allowed to laugh at me," I told her. She held up her hand and claimed scout's honor.

She laughed anyway. I picked myself up off the ground where I had face-planted, a few miles away from the broken home, and stared at her.

"Scout's honor my ass," I mumbled, and she smirked.

"Funny, I never was a girl scout," she said. She laughed some more and I couldn't help but smile and chuckle with her. She had an infectious laugh.

"Well that's good I guess, because you would have been a terrible scout," I shot back. She gasped and punched me in the arm. I'd never tell her, but she had one hell of a punch.

"Rude," she said, but she wasn't really upset. "Alright, untangle yourself from the snow, we should get back up in the air, I don't know these woods very well, and they make me kind of uncomfortable." I nodded with her.

"I've never been this far in, so I'll agree with you there," I told her. I felt the wind gently push me. As I'd been flying, I'd felt more of a…a kind of connection with it. Like it wanted me to push and bend it. It was kind of cool. I held out my hand, palm down, and felt the current flow around it, almost like a dog wishing to be pet. I pulled it around me and pushed up, and the wind seemed to bend a bit easier now that I'd fallen on my face. I was lifted no problem and stayed lifted.

"Alright pixie-dust, lead the way," I said as Tooth's wings fluttered and lifted her up into the air.

"Pixie-dust? Really?" she asked, crossing her arms. I shrugged. Better than what I've come up with in the past. She shook her head and took off, me following closely behind. It really was great to fly. The wind kept me pretty stable, and held pretty strong. I was honestly really surprised with it. It was as though it listened to me, like it was more of a friend than an invisible force. I sighed as the air got colder. I liked cold temperatures, they felt good. However, when I looked at Tooth, and noticed her shivering, I was reminded that not everyone has the same cold resistance I do.

"Hey Tooth, let's stop for the night. I know you wanted to get there before tomorrow, but you're going to catch like, pneumonia or something, you need to warm up," I told her, flying closer so she could hear me. She shook her head.

"We have to keep going," she insisted. Just then a particularly cold gust of wind blew violently in our direction, causing Tooth to not only shiver, but loose her balance and crash into me. I landed on hard snow, and Tooth landed on me. Not the softest landing I've ever experienced. I grunted and grimaced.

"Oh my god, Jack I'm so sorry!" Tooth apologized quickly. "Are you alright?"

"Get off and I'll tell you," I breathed. She gasped and got off me fast, turning red.

"Sorry," she said quietly.

"I'm alright, nothing broken, I'll get over it," I assured her, "but seriously, it's time to stop. You need to warm up." She nodded and together we found a cave. I gathered wood outside that wasn't too wet from all the snow; and she produced a box of matches and set up the fire. After a moment of hearing nothing but the wind outside and the crackle of the fire Tooth pulled her legs up to her chest.

"So Jack, what's your story?" she asked. I stared at her, confused. I mean, so far she'd proved to be a pretty random person, but that came completely out of the blue.

"My story?" She nodded. I thought.

"Well, before the apocalypse was great. I had my mom, and I had my sister. And there was really nothing else I ever needed. My sister, Emma, and I loved winter, her more than me - and every year we'd go ice-skating at this pond that was a little ways in the woods behind our house. When everything with the apocalypse first started happening, we were ok for a little while. Sure, we went to bed scared almost every night, and Emma slept with me instead of in her own room, but we still had each other.

"Leave it to Pitch Black to change all this, right? One night, we were sleeping. At least Emma was, I hadn't been able to sleep for days because of the news of the Nightmare attacks. That was when I heard it. That was the night I heard the neighing and the hoofbeats and the god-awful screams of everyone in the neighborhood. I grabbed Emma and I found my mom, and we tried to run.

"We didn't get very far. As soon as we opened the door, two Nightmares ran in. I tried to fight them, but they overpowered me. Next thing I know, one of them starts running at Emma, so I jumped in front of her and pushed her away, and the Nightmare just, ran straight through me, and all I could see was black. But I could still hear what was happening around me. And god I wish I couldn't. To this day I wish I couldn't hear what I did that night," I said. Tooth was looking at her feet.

"What did you hear?" she asked quietly. I took a deep breath, and went on with my story.

"My mom. She was telling Emma to run – to get away from the house. She was begging me to be alright. My sister – she was screaming. Screaming for me. She drowned out my mom. All I could hear all around me was 'Jack! Jack come back!' It was everywhere. It echoed around me, and it was torturous. I had hoped that I at least saved her by doing what I did but…

"Eventually the black died away. The Nightmares left. They were finished with me after all that. I looked around, trying to orient myself. The house was in shambles. Everything was broken. Pictures, furniture – everything. And then, there was my mom. She was just laying there. She had her eyes open, and I closed them. I started calling for Emma, hoping she was alright. I began to get worried. She wasn't answering me. She always answered me. I ran up to her room. She wasn't there. I ran into my room. There was a small hand under my bed. I prayed to god that it wasn't her. That it wasn't real. Or if it was real, she was just scared and hiding, but that she was alright. I didn't get any of that. I got my sister. Dead, under my bed. The last place she knew to hide was where I would usually be to comfort her, and I wasn't there," I said, finally finished with all I wanted to tell. It was silent for a long time.

"I'm sorry Jack. Really I am," she said. After another pause, she added, "I know what it's like to lose your family." I nodded.

"We should sleep," I said. She agreed with me, wished me goodnight, and curled up in a corner of the cave. I sat up all night, wondering why I told her all that. I'd kept in that story for years. The images from that night still haunted me, and the face of my sister did too. So I just stared at the cave wall until dawn. Unable to do anything.

Unable to forgive myself all over again.

* * *

So yeah, sorry if that was too depressing. I actually have a song for this one, and it's "Rain" by Brian Crain. It's a good song, go listen to it! That's all I got for now folks, so see you next chapter!


	9. The Cave (or Seriously Nature?)

Alright guys this is an extremely short chapter and it's extremely late and I'm really sorry about that. Anyway thank you to everyone who reviewed and faved in the last chapter! Also if you guys haven't heard of it yet, and are so into Rainbow Snowcone (like I am) go and check out the most amazing story _Project GUARDIAN: The Rise and Fall _by HerHeadInTheClouds. She's the reason this story exists and her story is awesome!

Alright guys, happy reading!

* * *

The cave was dark. It didn't exactly register at first how dark it was until I realized I couldn't see in front of me. I couldn't see Tooth. I stood up abruptly and looked around.

"Jack?"

I stopped. My blood ran cold and I couldn't feel anything. My mouth opened. I knew that voice.

"Jack? Where are you?"

Oh god, not now. Please not now.

"Jack? Why did you leave me alone? Where are you Jack?"

I gasped awake. Sometime between Tooth falling asleep and beating myself up over my sister I must have dozed off. I sighed.

Same damn recurring nightmare. Happened every time I closed my eyes. I rubbed my eyes and pulled my hand through my hair, ruffling it in the process. I shook the sleep and drowsiness away and walked around the cave, careful to not wake up Tooth. I was going to take a walk outside and clear my head, but nature had something else in mind.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" I yelled in frustration.

"Will you quiet down I'm trying to sleep over here!" a disgruntled Tooth muttered. "What are you screaming about?" I pointed angrily to the mouth of the cave before me. She was silent.

"Shit," she breathed.

"We're snowed in," I growled, glaring at the large pile of snow almost covering the top of the cave.

"Snowed in? We can't be snowed in! I have somewhere to be yesterday! Ugh, this is all your fault," she spat, jabbing me harshly with her index finger. I scowled.

"Well I'm sorry _princess_, I can't predict the weather. But tell you what, next time you're nearly overcome by fatigue, I'll just let you fly through it and an oncoming snowstorm and watch patiently as you lose your sense of direction and become stranded. Yeah, that sounds like a great idea!" If looks could kill, I'd have daggers in my back right now.

"Sarcasm only makes me want to hurt you in every way I know how," she seethed.

"Look all arguing aside, we need to find a way out of here and fast," I countered. She huffed.

"Fine, I'll see if we can both squeeze ourselves out up there, and you see if there's another way out further in the cave," she instructed.

Moments later I came back to see her sitting against the snow looking rather distraught.

"Too small?" I asked. She sighed and nodded. I offered her my hand and she took it.

"It's alright, I think I found another way out down here," I told her pulling her up. She looked behind me.

"A-are you sure it's safe?"

"What's the matter, afraid of caves?" I teased. When she was silent I looked down at her. "Are you really afraid of caves?"

"Look let's just get going. The others are going to be worried by now, and the faster we get to North the faster we rescue Jamie," she said. I shrugged.

"Alright," I said, "Do you want to hold my hand?"

She smacked me in the back of the head instead.

* * *

Alright, next is back to Jamie! And this one, won't be so late! Sorry again guys, I'll see you next chapter!


	10. The Cage (or Always Crying)

Alright everyone, the muses actually let me write this one! We are now in Jamie's POV again, and I'm sorry. I really am. I meant for this to be Jamie being Jamie, all cute and stuff, and well...you'll see.

* * *

I sat down a little hard, causing the big cage to rock a little. We'd all gotten used to it by now; in fact it was a little fun.

"You got any ideas Claude?" I asked. The boy next to me shook his head. "Cupcake?" Another no. "What about you Monty? You always seem to have really good ideas!"

"Nothing," Monty said, fixing his glasses. I sighed and held my head up with my hands.

"Darn. What about those horse thingies? What do they do when they aren't here?" I wondered.

"We don't like those horse thingies. They're creepy," Pippa said softly. I looked down at the ones walking around below us, making sure we didn't somehow escape (very unlikely, I'm not even sure how we'd get down). They looked pretty scary at first, especially when they looked at you, but after a while of staring at them, it was like they weren't that scary at all.

"I don't think they're creepy," I said. One of them looked at me, and suddenly it was right in my face and its eyes were really close to me. My eyes got real wide and I'll admit, I was scared. The horse thingy laughed and then was back on the ground. I crossed my arms.

"Rude."

"What about the kids that leave?" Cupcake asked. I shrugged. Every now and then the horses would take one of the kids from a cage. We haven't seen one come back yet. We'd heard some talk about "experiments" and "super soldiers" and "mutations," but we didn't understand what all that meant, so we kind of just left it to our imaginations which honestly wasn't coming up with better results. Most of the time we just walked around the cage talking (or in adult talk deliverating!) which wasn't getting us anywhere either.

"What about Jack?" Claude asked. I looked down. It had been almost two days – I think – and still no sign of Jack. How hard could it be to find me? Probably actually really hard I don't even know where I am right now, I think it's somewhere underground. I shrugged a little and looked at him.

"I guess he's having a hard time with directions. But I know Jack and he'll be here," I said defiantly (as I've been informed is the actual word, not definitely). I yawned.

"Not again!"

"I don't want to sleep!"

"I don't care how tired I am I don't want to sleep tonight!"

"Let's just try to stay…awake guys," Claude said as he yawned too. We all nodded in agreement.

Pretty soon it was really quiet. I yawned again and looked around, everyone had layed down.

"Guys? Did everyone fall asleep?"

"Seems that way, doesn't it, Jamie Bennet?" A familiar really creepy voice asked.

"Stinky head," I whispered. And there he was, Pitch. He smiled weird, like something stank (it was him, I'm sure). He just pointed at me, and then a horse thingy was in my face again, but this time it didn't stop there, it was like when I was kidnapped in the first place, and all I could see was black.

"Hey!" I screamed, trying to find a way out. Then, just like that, all the blackness was gone, and I was being grabbed around my middle and carried. I screamed even more, and started kicking. It didn't exactly help anything, because these things are like, made of sand or something. But I still tried. Pitch walked ahead of us, with his hands behind his back and his head really high. I didn't like it. While I was wildly kicking around, I happened to catch a look at one of the rooms in the hall we were in. It was completely white, which was a change for all the black we'd seen everywhere. The wall was made of glass, and there was a kid inside. It was one of the ones that had gone missing! He was all huddled (which I've also been informed is the right word, since hiddled is apparently not one) against the wall away from us, and he was shaking. I got really scared, because we were getting closer and closer to an empty room. What does Pitch do to all those kids he takes anyway? By the look of the little boy, it wasn't a good thing. I had stopped kicking and screaming, and now looked up and what was holding me. It was creepy. It had creepy eyes, and its teeth were really sharp. So were its nails, because they were digging into my side and it really hurt. They were going to leave scratches.

Finally, after what felt like a really long walk, Pitch stopped at an empty room.

"Yes, this should do just nicely for little Jamie," he said, his creepy smile back. The thing that was holding me threw me in there like I was dirty clothes in the laundry.

"Ow! You're rude too!" I said to it. I got up as fast as I could to run out of the room, but didn't make it. It shut on me really fast. "Hey! Let me out of here meanie butt! I'll get you for this Stinky Head!" After I realized nothing was working I huffed and sat down against a wall. There was a noise next to me. I turned my head to see what it was and gasped. It was another one of the kids who had gone missing. She was staring at me, which was creepy enough, but one of her eyes was covered with the black stuff that the horse thingies were made of, and he nails had gotten really sharp. She looked like she'd been crying. There were some scratches on her, like she'd accidentally scratched herself a lot. She suddenly looked like something was hurting her and put her hand over her bad eye really hard. She looked like she was screaming and crying, and I pressed myself as hard to the glass as I could, trying to make sure she was alright. She sure didn't look alright. After a while, her other eye closed and her hand fell away from her face. There was blood on her face and her hand, so I guess that's how she accidently hurt herself a lot. I sat down again, next to the glass between us, waiting for her to wake up. I wasn't tired anymore.

When she finally woke up I tapped the glass, making her look at me.

'You ok?' I mouthed. She shook her head no. 'Sorry.'

'Thank you,' she mouthed back. She looked younger than me. She looked five or six. She had yellow hair, and brown eyes, and she looked really really tired. We sat next to each other after that, well, as close to next to each other we could get there was glass in between us. Neither of us wanted to sleep. We weren't tired anymore. There weren't any horse thingies anymore, but I sure do wish there were. What guarded the hall instead was much scarier. It was like something out of those movies I wasn't allowed to watch because they were too scary.

One time, one of them came to her door.

I watched as her head shot up real fast, and she looked really scared. She was crying again, and squeezing really hard against the glass between us. When they grabbed her I started yelling at them and banging really hard on it but they took her away anyway.

I waited and waited for her to come back. I waited for what felt like forever. When she did come back, she had more black stuff on her. She still looked really scared, but the way she moved kind of scared me. One time, after I took a small nap and woke up, I saw her just staring at me. Her eyes weren't brown anymore, they were the same color as the horse thingies. She still looked like she'd been crying. She always looked like she'd been crying.

* * *

I don't know what I'm doing anymore. I honestly tried to make this chapter a bit more lighthearted, but apparently not. That's not where this was going. People should give me songs. I like songs. Songs make good writing music. Don't they HerHeadInTheClouds?


	11. Tooth (or Glowworms)

Ugh this chapter. I'm going to let you guys get on with the reading, and reserve my comments for below.

* * *

"I'm getting increasingly frustrated with this cave," she said. I laughed.

"You're what?" I asked her. She huffed.

"You heard me." Tooth and I had been walking through the cave toward the light that I'd seen earlier. Neither of us knew what exactly was there, but we both kind of went with it. Be it sense of direction or just instinct, we just knew it was the right way to go.

There was a shuffling noise overhead. Tooth gasped and next thing I knew, she was latched onto my arm flitting her head wildly around.

"Did you hear that, because I heard that, and I was just going to make sure you heard that and it wasn't just a figment of my imagination because if it was a figment of my imagination then great I'm just crazy nothing to worry about right Jack? Jack? There is was again!" she whispered urgently and very quickly. I chuckled.

"From what I could understand, yes I heard it too. It's just a bunch of bats. Nothing to worry about, they won't attack unless you threaten them," I replied. Tooth didn't let up, and as we started walking again, she grasped tight to my arm, not wanting to "get lost" in so dark a place.

"You'll pull my arm off if you hold any tighter princess," I joked after a while, a smile on my face.

"Don't give me any ideas," she replied. "And 'princess' really?"

"She speaks!" I exclaimed, "I forgot you even had a voice!" She shoved me lightly on the shoulder. We walked in silence for a bit more after that.

"Listen, Jack, I'm sorry about earlier. I was stressed, and I get…violent when I'm anxious," Tooth apologized eventually with a quiet voice.

"It's alright, we were both stressed," I assured her. Tooth suddenly stopped me.

"Jack, look," she said as she pushed past me. I her path and saw the light we were going towards was a room. And we were just outside the threshold.

"What the hell?" I asked as I followed her quietly.

"It's beautiful," she said awe. I nodded in agreement.

There were glowworms on the ceiling. They were everywhere, and their neon glow reflected off the small lake in the center of the room. The effect it had on the pitch-black room was breathtaking.

"They're like stars," Tooth whispered.

"Yeah," I replied, unable to think of anything better to say.

"We should stop here, sleep, re-fresh ourselves. We've got a ways ahead of us, might as well settle down," I said finally.

"You're right, we can keep going after we sleep," she agreed.

"What about you?" I asked quietly once we settled down. She glanced at me, confused.

"What do you mean?" she inquired. I sighed.

"What's your story princess?" I elaborated. She stared at me for a while, then at the ground, as if contemplating whether or not she should tell me. Finally with a sigh she nodded.

"I grew up in Southeast Asia, with my parents. Their names were Haroom and Rashmi. My mother was a part of an organization called Sisters of Flight, which protected endangered species indigenous to the area, and my father was hunting with a friend when they found each other. My father's friend tried to kill mama when she got in between him and the elephant he tried to kill, but baba stepped in front of him, very heroic. At least that's what mama thought, I mean she did end up marrying him.

"I was twelve when everyone first started talking about Pitch Black. Punjam Hy Loo was a small mountain village, yet the merchants who travelled to the bigger towns would always bring us news. When the toxin was finally released, I was the only one in the town that was affected. Everyone was scared of me, and I didn't know why. My parents had to run, as things were getting dangerous. The townspeople hired hunters to track us down.

"Those hunters ended up killing my parents. They kidnapped them to get to me, and then when I tried to save them, they just," she pause for a moment. Her eyes were closed, but no evidence of tears showed. She finally pulled a necklace out of her shirt, a smooth white locket at the end of the chain.

"They left me with this, as well as a note, telling me that they loved me, and that this locket would always remind me of them. It would always serve me in my greatest time of need. They made it themselves out of a tooth of an animal, they didn't say which one. But I will never forget them, ever," she said, finally finished with her story. I was quiet.

"I'm so sorry," I finally whispered. She smiled.

"What is there to be sorry about? Eventually I found my friends, and they are like a second family to me anyway," she explained, "We should go ahead and get some sleep now, don't know when the next chance will be, right?" I stared at her for a while, and for once I felt like I knew someone who could fully comprehend what it felt like to lose everything, yet even now I still knew she had more than me. I felt like I had a friend in her. And I was going to hold on to that.

"Yeah, alright. Sleep well Tooth."

"Sleep well Jack."

* * *

Well yeah, that's all I could come up with. Sometimes, I write chapters, and they just come to me. Other times, I can hardly write anything. This was one of those times. Thus no chapter was written for well over a month. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be so late. Please accept this chapter as an apology. Even though its a bit of a sucky one.


End file.
